The Battle of Arras was in fact a series of Battles in April/May 1917, including Vimy Ridge, which has gone down in history as being an allied victory, but which in reality saw little gain in terms of allied advance and huge casualty figures on both sides after its 39 day duration. In fact such was the attrition rate that for the allies it surpassed The Somme in terms of daily casualty toll. Include the German casualties and an average of some seven and a half thousand casualties a day occurred throughout. Dur: 21mins File: .mp3

The clang of gongs hung in the heavy air of an August day, 1860. Waving their yellow flags, the rebels in their red turbans and colourful garb marched closer and closer to Shanghai – until artillery erupted from the city walls and sent them scurrying for cover. Yet the rebels would not fire back. At last they withdrew, scratching their heads that the British and French troops were killing them, not greeting them as Christian brothers. For these rebels had been baptized and had no quarrel with the foreigners of Shanghai. And their enemy was the same Chinese government that Anglo-French forces on that same day battled in the north. Dur: 33mins File: .mp3